Images of Old Hawaiʻi

You are here: Home / Categories

by Peter T Young Leave a Comment

Honolulu’s General Store

In 1806, Focke and Melchers, a shipping and trading company, was founded in Bremen, Germany by Carl Melchers and Carl Focke. Its business was centered on emigration to the US and transportation of goods from Cuba, Mexico and the US.

Three brothers, Heinrich (1822-1893,) Georg (1827-1907) and Gustav (1830-1902) formed branches of Melchers Company, first in Mazatlán, Mexico (1846,) then seven years later in Honolulu (1853.) In 1854, with the death of founder Carl Melchers, eldest son Laurenz Henrich Melchers took over; the company was renamed to C Melchers & Co and started to expand into the Asian market.

That year, Gustav Cornelius Melchers and Gustav Reiners completed their building on Merchant Street in downtown Honolulu. Once the main street of the financial and governmental functions in the city, Merchant Street was Honolulu’s earliest commercial center. (Melchers building is still there and today is the oldest commercial building in Honolulu.)

Melchers and Reiners were German importers, commission merchants, and ship chandlers (retail dealers who specialize in supplies or equipment for ships.) Their store was on Merchant Street back then, what is now known as Queen Street was actually the water’s edge.

The store was officially opened on February 20, 1854, with a celebratory luncheon. The structure was fitted with koa counters and glass-enclosed shelving. It sold mostly European goods, items found in most dry goods stores of that time, including fabrics, cigars and china goods. It served as Honolulu’s general store.

On April 26, 1856, RC Wyllie, through the Polynesian, Melchers was acknowledged as Consul of Bremen, Germany for the Hawaiian Islands and later (1858) Lubeck, Germany. Gustav Reiners served as Royal Prussian Consul (and appointed Melchers to that position when Reiners was away.)

It appears Melchers returned to Germany in the late-1850s. Reiners returned to Germany in 1861, leaving the business in the hands of Frederick August Schaefer.

In 1867, Schaefer, who had been a clerk of the store in the 1850s, purchased the firm from Melchers and Reiners and continued to operate the business. Schaefer was Consul of the Kingdom of Italy. (HABS)

Schaefer was born in Bremen, Germany in 1836 and came to Hawaii in 1857, to work for Melchers & Co in Honolulu. He became a partner in the firm in 1861 and bought out his partners in 1867, continuing the business as FA Schaefer & Co. on the same premises.

On the 50th anniversary of Shaefer’s company, the newspaper noted, “Mr. Schaefer has resided In Honolulu all of these years, and now has a beautiful home in Nuʻuanu (the former residence of R. C. Wyllie (foreign minister in the 1850s-1860s.)) He still comes down to his office each morning although he is getting along in years. The firm itself has long been one of Hawaiʻi’s substantial assets.” (Honolulu Star-bulletin, July 18, 1917)

Upon Schaefer’s relocation in 1920, Melchers’ building became the home office of Hawaiian Dredging Company, Ltd, an engineering and construction firm with seven branches elsewhere in the islands. Hawaiian Dredging, in turn, sold the building on April 6, 1954 to the City and County of Honolulu. (Greer)

The original structure was a three-by-four-bay building, its Merchant Street facade being the longer, the Kaʻahumanu Street facade the shorter. The structure has a basement, which was unusual at that time for a building so close to the ocean. The coral stone building was topped by a hipped roof above a simple cornice.

Probably in 1937-38, the Building was significantly enlarged (by about 75%) by the addition to the west/ʻEwa of another two bays, each with two windows at the second level. The connecting bay has a wide door at the lower floor. The lower level of the corner bay has no doors. These two bays may be conversions of the earlier alley and one-story warehouse-style structure.

Stucco and paint now cover most of the building. However, take the time to check the back of the building (makai side) to see the coral blocks. A good way is to take the breezeway down through Harbor Court (you’ll be walking on what once was Kaʻahumanu Street (also called Laulau Lane, due to the products sold along the former street.))

Here are a couple other Melchers mementos – the site where the Melchers building sits was the center of controversy in the early-1840s.

April 25, 1825, Richard Charlton arrived in the Islands to serve as the first British consul. A former sea captain and trader, he was already familiar with the islands of the Pacific and had promoted them in England for their commercial potential (he worked for the East India Company in the Pacific as early as 1821.)

In 1840, Charlton made a claim for several parcels of land in Honolulu. To substantiate his claim, Charlton produced a 299-year lease for the land in question, granted by Kalanimoku. There was no disagreement over the parcel, Wailele, on which Charlton lived, but the adjoining parcel he claimed, Pulaholaho, had been occupied since 1826 by retainers and heirs of Kaʻahumanu (a portion of which is where the Melchers Building is situate.)

In rejecting Charlton’s claim, Kamehameha III cited the fact that Kalanimoku did not have the authority to grant the lease. At the time the lease was made, Kaʻahumanu was Kuhina Nui, and only she and the king could make such grants. The land was Kaʻahumanu’s in the first place, and Kalanimoku certainly could not give it away. (Hawaiʻi State Archives) The dispute dragged on for years.

This, and other grievances purported by Charlton and the British community in Hawai‘i, led to the landing of George Paulet on February 11, 1843 “for the purpose of affording protection to British subjects, as likewise to support the position of Her Britannic Majesty’s representative here”.

Following this King Kamehameha III ceded the Islands and Paulet took control. After five months of British rule, Queen Victoria, on learning the injustice done, immediately sent Rear Admiral Richard Darton Thomas to the islands to restore sovereignty to its rightful rulers. On July 31, 1843 the Hawaiian flag was raised. The ceremony was held in area known as Kulaokahuʻa; the site of the ceremony was turned into a park, Thomas Square.

Here’s another Melchers memento; in the Hawaiian legislature of 1878, Walter Murray Gibson, then a freshman member from Lahaina, Maui, proposed a monument to the centennial of Hawaiʻi’s “discovery” by Captain James Cook. The legislature approved and he chaired the monument committee.

At the request of the monument committee, a bronze statue of ‘heroic size’ (about eight-and-a-half-feet tall) of King Kamehameha was designed, depicting the King at about 45-years old.

The statue was shipped on August 21, 1880, by the bark ‘GF Haendel,’ and was expected about mid-December. On February 22, 1881, came word that the Haendel had gone down November 15, 1880, off the Falkland Islands. All the cargo had been lost.

The statue had been insured for 50,000 marks (about $12,000) with Gustav C Melchers of Bremen through FA Schaefer of Honolulu. With the proceeds, a replica was ordered.

Ultimately, the original was recovered and repaired and set in Kapaʻau, Kohala on the Island of Hawaiʻi (May 8, 1883.) The duplicate was set in front of Aliʻiolani Hale on King Street in Honolulu (February 14, 1883.

© 2025 Hoʻokuleana LLC

by Peter T Young Leave a Comment

Territorial Governors

“(T)he executive power of the government of the Territory of Hawaii shall be vested in a governor, who shall be appointed by the President, by and with the advice and consent of the Senate of the United States, and shall hold office for four years and until his successor shall be appointed and qualified, unless sooner removed by the President.”

“He shall be not less than thirty-five years of age; shall be a citizen of the Territory of Hawaii; shall be commander in chief of the militia thereof; may grant pardons or reprieves for offenses against the laws of the said Territory and reprieves for offenses against the laws of the United States until the decision of the President is made known thereon.” (The Government of Hawaii, April 30, 1900)

The Territory of Hawaiʻi was organized on June 14, 1900, remaining a territory for 59 years. Twelve people served as territorial governor, each appointed by the President of the US.

1. Sanford Ballard Dole (1900-1903)
Sanford Ballard Dole (April 23, 1844 – June 9, 1926) was born in Honolulu to Protestant Christian missionaries from Maine. His father was Daniel Dole principal at Punahou School and mother was Emily Hoyt Ballard (his mother died from complications within a few days of his birth.)

The monarchy ended on January 17, 1893; Dole was named president of the Provisional Government of Hawaiʻi. The Provisional Government held a constitutional convention and on July 4, 1894, established the Republic of Hawaii. Dole would serve as the first and only president from 1894 to 1898.

President William McKinley appointed Dole to become the first territorial governor after US annexation of Hawaiʻi, and the Hawaiian Organic Act organized its government. Dole assumed the office on June 14, 1900 but resigned November 23, 1903 to accept an appointment by Theodore Roosevelt as judge for the US District Court

2. George Robert Carter (1903-1907)
George Robert Carter (December 28, 1866 – February 11, 1933) was born in Honolulu. His mother was Sybil Augusta Judd, daughter of Gerrit P Judd, and his father was businessman Henry Alpheus Peirce Carter.

Carter was educated at Fort Street School in Honolulu (now McKinley High School,) Phillips Academy in Andover, Massachusetts and Yale University. He married Helen Strong, daughter of Eastman Kodak president Henry A Strong April 19, 1892; they had four children.

In 1895 Carter returned to Hawaiʻi to become the cashier of C. Brewer & Co., where his father had been a senior partner from 1862 to 1874. From 1898 to 1902, he helped organize and manage the Hawaiian Trust Company, and was managing director of the Hawaiian Fertilizer Company. In addition, he served as a director for Bank of Hawaii, C. Brewer and Alexander & Baldwin

President Theodore Roosevelt appointed him Secretary of the Territory in 1902, and then Territorial Governor in 1903. In 1905, during Carter’s administration, the current system of county governments was created; Counties Oahu, Maui, Kauai, Hawaii and Kalawao took effect on January 1, 1906. Oahu County later became the City and County of Honolulu in 1909.

3. Walter Francis Frear (1907-1913)
Walter Francis Frear (October 29, 1863 – January 2, 1948) was born in Grass Valley, California. His father, Reverend Walter Frear, came to the Kingdom of Hawaiʻi as a missionary, and then lived in California. His mother was Frances Elmira Foster.

The family returned to Honolulu in 1870, where his father was pastor of the Fort Street Church until 1881. He graduated from Punahou School in 1881, Yale with a B.A. in 1885, and Yale law school in 1890. On August 1, 1893 he married Mary Emma Dillingham, the daughter of Benjamin Dillingham; they had two daughters.

Frear was appointed by President Theodore Roosevelt on August 15, 1907. Frear Hall, a dormitory building built in the 1950s on the University of Hawaii at Manoa campus, was named after Governor Frear’s wife Mary Dillingham Frear, a member of the University’s Board of Regents from 1920–1943 (the structure was demolished in 2006 and replaced in 2008 by new dorm facility also called Frear Hall.

4. Lucius Eugene Pinkham (1913-1918)
Lucius Eugene Pinkham (September 19, 1850 – November 2, 1922) was born in Chicopee, Massachusetts. He attended public schools in Boston and Hartford, Connecticut. Although he intended to attend Yale, a horse-riding accident prevented him from walking for several years and he never attended college.

Pinkham arrived in Hawaii in 1892 to build a coal handling plant for Oahu Railway and Land Company, and then went to California in 1894. From 1898 to 1903 he was manager of Pacific Hardware, another family business of Benjamin Dillingham.

On April 13, 1904, Pinkham was appointed President of the territorial Board of Health. While President of the Board of Health, he developed the idea of dredging the marshlands of Waikīkī via a two-mile long drainage canal. Pinkham was appointed governor by President Woodrow Wilson on November 29, 1913. The construction of what would become the Ala Wai Canal and the drainage of the Waikiki are considered to be his most enduring legacies.

5. Charles James McCarthy (1918-1921)
Charles James McCarthy (August 4, 1861 – November 26, 1929) was born in Boston, Massachusetts, to Charles McCarthy and Joana (McCarthy) McCarthy. McCarthy moved with his parents to San Francisco, California in 1866.

He was a member of the House of Nobles in 1890, supporter of Liliuokalani and ironically a captain in the pro-annexation Honolulu Rifles. He also was a territorial senator 1907-12 and treasurer 1912-14.

He was appointed by President Woodrow Wilson to serve as Governor. He was the first governor to advocate statehood for Hawaiʻi.

He was later given a job as Washington representative of the Honolulu Chamber of Commerce, and later general manager of Hawaiian Dredging Co during which he worked on the Waikiki Reclamation project which resulted in the construction of the Ala Wai Canal.

6. Wallace Rider Farrington (1921-1929)
Wallace Rider Farrington (May 3, 1871 – October 6, 1933) was born in Orono, Penobscot County, Maine. An avid traveler, he came to the Islands and was persuaded to stay to become the editor of the Honolulu Advertiser; he left the Advertiser and became editor of the Honolulu Star-Bulletin. Interested in local politics, he was elected Mayor of Honolulu.

President Warren Harding appointed Farrington as Governor. Wallace Rider Farrington High School in Kalihi is named for him; they adopted ‘The Governors’ as its nickname and mascot.

7. Lawrence McCully Judd (1929-1934)
Lawrence McCully Judd (March 20, 1887 – October 4, 1968) was born in Honolulu, grandson of Gerrit P Judd (an early American Missionary and cabinet minister to King Kamehameha III.)

Herbert Hoover appointed Judd. Judd was devoted to the Hansen’s Disease-afflicted residents of Kalaupapa on the island of Molokai and as Governor; he overhauled the system of governance there. He later became Kalaupapa’s resident superintendent.

A source of controversy during his tenure, Judd commuted the sentence of Grace Hubbard Fortescue, convicted in the territorial courts of manslaughter in the death of a local man, Joseph Kahahawai in the ‘Massie Affair.’

8. Joseph Boyd Poindexter (1934-1942)
Joseph Boyd Poindexter (April 14, 1869 – December 3, 1951) was born in Canyon City, Oregon to Thomas W and Margaret Pipkin Poindexter.

He was admitted to the Montana Bar in 1892, and served as County Attorney of Beaverhead County, Montana from 1897 to 1903. He later served as a district judge in Montana from 1909 to 1915, and as Attorney General of Montana from 1915 to 1917.

President Woodrow Wilson appointed Poindexter as Judge on the United States District Court for the District of Hawaii; President Franklin D Roosevelt appointed Poindexter governor of Hawaii.

In the immediate aftermath of the Japanese attack on Pearl Harbor on December 7, 1941, Poindexter placed the territory under martial law and allowed the US military to form a military government. The military government would continue until 1943.

9. Ingram Macklin Stainback (1942-1951)
Ingram Macklin Stainback (May 12, 1883 – April 12, 1961) was born in Somerville, Tennessee, he received his undergraduate degree from Princeton University and his Juris Doctor from the University of Chicago.

He came to Hawaii shortly after graduation and was appointed by Governor Pinkham as Territorial Attorney General. He resigned in 1917 to join the Army and rose to the rank of major. When WWI ended he returned to private practice in Hawaii.

He was appointed to the office by President Franklin D Roosevelt. Stainback was essentially powerless for the first two years of his term since martial law was in effect.

On September 26, 1951, he was appointed by President Harry S Truman as an associate judge to the Hawaii Supreme Court. Stainback argued for Commonwealth status similar to Puerto Rico instead of statehood, arguing that Hawaii would benefit from the federal tax exemption.

10. Oren Ethelbirt Long (1951-1953)
Oren Ethelbirt Long (March 4, 1889 – May 6, 1965) was born in Altoona, Kansas and attended Johnson Bible College in Knoxville, Tennessee, the University of Michigan, and Columbia University in New York City.

He first came to Hawaii in 1917 as a social worker in Hilo. He then held various educational positions in the public school system, eventually serving as a superintendent from 1933 to 1946.

He was appointed Governor of the Territory of Hawaii by President Harry Truman. Long later served in the Hawaii Territorial Senate from 1956-1959. On July 28, 1959 he was elected to one of the two Senate seats from the newly formed State of Hawaii, and took office on August 21, 1959. The other Senator elected was Hiram Fong.

11. Samuel Wilder King (1953-1957)
Samuel Wilder King (December 17, 1886 – March 24, 1959) was born in Honolulu to father James A King, a ship’s master for Samuel Gardner Wilder, and later politician in the Republic of Hawaii. His mother was Charlotte Holmes Davis.

A devout Roman Catholic, King attended Saint Louis School. Upon graduating, King went on to study at the United States Naval Academy in Annapolis, Maryland. He entered the US Navy as a commissioned officer where he served from 1910 to 1924.

King served in the United States House of Representatives as a delegate from the Territory of Hawaii. President Dwight D. Eisenhower appointed King to the governorship, the first of native Hawaiian descent to rise to the highest office in the territory.

12. William Francis Quinn (1957-1959)
William Francis Quinn (July 13, 1919 – August 28, 2006) was born in Rochester, New York. His family moved to St. Louis, Missouri during his youth, where he attended prep school at St. Louis University High School and college at St. Louis University, graduating in 1940.

Quinn entered Harvard Law School, but only finished after his stint in the military. He graduated cum laude in 1947. He served in Hawaii in naval intelligence during World War II. Upon his discharge from service, he settled permanently in Honolulu.

Originally appointed to the office by President Dwight D. Eisenhower, in 1959, he defeated challenger John A Burns to win the new state’s first gubernatorial election.

© 2025 Hoʻokuleana LLC

by Peter T Young Leave a Comment

Metropolitan Meat Market

As early as 1871, Metropolitan Market appears to have been started as a beef marketing operation on O‘ahu by Gilbert Waller (Bergin); he had a “branch store”, Family Market (formerly the Rose Cottage Market), on the corner of Union and Hotel (that he bought at auction in 1875). (HSA and Tourist Guide, 1880-1881)

In 1872, his nephew, Gilbert Johnson Waller, acquired the Metropolitan meat company and eventually took in as partners James Campbell, James Dowsett, and Thos R Foster, prominent ranch owners on the Island of O‘ahu. (Bergin)

This meat purveying operation grew rapidly over the next two decades, with Parker Ranch being its main supplier of beef. In July 1900, the original partnership was transformed into a limited liability stock company and incorporated as the Metropolitan Meat Company, Ltd, with Gilbert J Waller serving as manager/treasurer. (Bergin)

The Metropolitan Meat Company flourished at its King Street location, with forty-seven employees providing processing  and  delivery  of  slaughtered  beef throughout Honolulu. The company eventually added a tannery as part of its broad diversification. (Bergin)

To distribute beef to ships anchored at Honolulu, in 1901. Metropolitan Meat Market purchased the ‘Fun’; the launch was operated by Young Brothers to deliver supplies. Young Brothers had a delivery contract with Metropolitan, so eighteen-year-old Jack Young had the job of getting up at 4 am to make the meat deliveries.

By 1902, the brothers were able to buy the eight-horsepower boat and take over the contract to deliver meat and other fresh supplies to ships anchored in the harbor. (YB, 100 Years)

With respect to beef suppliers, Alfred Wellington “AW” Carter (Parker Ranch Manager) sought that Metropolitan Meat company allow greater ownership interest by the actual ranchers – many of whom were neighbor island ranchers who shipped their market cattle to this consortium.  (Bergin)

Parker Ranch and other neighbor island ranchers had legitimate concerns with Metropolitan Meat Company’s autocratic and monopolistic way of doing business. Without notice, the price could drop as much as a penny per pound, or Metropolitan Meat would cancel cattle shipments to O‘ahu at the last minute. (Bergin)

A federal antitrust lawsuit was filed October 2, 1906 (and decided in 1917) to restrain the operation of alleged unlawful combinations in restraint of trade in beef and beef products.

The suit charged Metropolitan Meat (and other defendants) with “an unlawful combination, trust and conspiracy … in restraint of the trade and commerce of the Territory of Hawaii in violation of an act of Congress of July 2nd, 1890, entitled ‘An act to protect trade and commerce against restraints and monopolies’”.

During the proceedings, it was determined that “[a]bout 3,667,105 pounds weight of beef cattle produced in the Territory, of the value of $317,178.25 in money of the United States, are consumed annually by such people …”

“… and about ninety (90%) per cent of such beef cattle has been, is now and will continue to be produced and dealt in by [Metropolitan Meat] in the Territory as an object of trade and commerce therein.” (United States v Metropolitan Meat Co)

“All of such beef cattle are produced in the Territory. The defendants comprise nearly all the wholesale dealers in the Territory, who produce and deal in beef cattle and fresh beef to consumers and dealers in the Territory, and if combined together they can and do control the prices charged for fresh beef produced in the Territory.” (United States v Metropolitan Meat Co)

Under the leadership of Carter, with the participation and support of other neighbor island ranchers such as the Greenwells of Kona, the Maguires of Hu‘ehu‘e, Homers of Kuka’iau, Kohala Ranch Company, and WH Shipman, Parker Ranch announced plans to build a slaughterhouse on O’ahu (in competition with Metropolitan).

In March of 1909, Hawai‘i Meat Company was born, with the articles of incorporation signed by Carter, Robert Leighton Hind Sr., Albert Horner, JA Maguire, Maud WH Greenwell, JD Paris, JF Woods, A Morrow, and RA Cooke. Gilbert J. Waller was named manager of the new company.

Metropolitan suggested that Carter purchase the stock of the company. Carter noted: “I said I would appoint someone, they should appoint someone, both of these men to appoint a third, to put a price on the business and we would pay it.”

“That is how we got the Metropolitan Meat Co. I went to Hawaii and got the graziers together, outlined my plan and arranged with the bank to borrow $100,000. All the fellows who came in endorsed that note. No one put up a cent.” (Carter; Bergin)

The retail meant facility expanded … “Everything conceivable for perfect sanitation, convenience, attractiveness and service is embodied in the appointments of the recently remodelled Metropolitan Meat Market”.

“Situated in the heart of the city of Honolulu, at 50 King street, between Fort and Bethel streets, this thoroughly modern market, with its beautiful marble, glass and tile work would delight the heart of the most particular housewife of famous ‘Spotless Town’ itself.”

“There are larger establishments of the kind in the greater cities, to be sure, but it is absolutely safe to assert that nowhere in the world is there a cleaner, neater, more attractive, more pleasing or more wholesome appearing headquarters for the purchase of choice meats, poultry, butter, eggs, cheese, hams, bacon, sausages, delicatessen and what else one may want to procure in a well-stocked market.”

“Sanitary improvements and the utmost convenience were the main objects in the reconstruction. Rapid increase in business called for enlargement, too, and the change that has been wrought fulfills these plans to the last degree. Marble and tile finish insure perfect sanitation, so marble and tile finish were provided.”

“The same architect and builder who originated the Washington and Long’s markets in San Francisco was obtained to carry out the work for the Metropolitan Meat Market, Frank Loehr of Oakland.”

“The front of the new building is of terra cotta, the first of its kind to be used in Honolulu. The decorations are modelled after those on one of the buildings at the San Francisco Exposition, afterwards sold and used in the ornamentation of a millionaire’s new home on Knob Hill.”

“An extensive refrigerating system of coiled pipes fed by calcium chloride brine, pumped from a tank at the rear, keep a large number of rooms, as well as the show cases and windows at the required temperature.” (Paradise of the Pacific, Dec 1917)

No longer a packing house, Metropolitan Meat Company continued as a retailing concern on King and Bethel Street and finally closed its doors in 1950, a victim of the cash and carry trend. (Bergin)

© 2025 Ho‘okuleana LLC

by Peter T Young Leave a Comment

Mahiole v Tibetan Monk Hat

On a visit to the Hawaiian Islands, the Dalai Lama XIV “was presented with a traditional ceremonial hat [mahiole] (which he wore on his head mentioning that it seemed similar to Tibetan monastic hats)”.  (Central Tibetan Administration)

The Tibetan monk’s hat was made of wool over a cotton interior; different sects had different colors (red or yellow).  Hawaiians did not have wool or cotton cloth; they had ‘ie‘ie and ‘olonā fibers and feathers, typically, red and yellow to make their mahiole.

In Hawai‘i, feathered garments denoted status and as such could be worn only by the elite. The ‘ahu ‘ula (cape) and mahiole (helmets) were worn by the most powerful chiefs, or ali’i, and were sometimes given as gifts.

Mahiole were constructed of the aerial roots of the ʻieʻie vine, woven into a basketry frame. They were perfectly fitted to an individual, and protected the most sacred part of the body, the head.

A net of olonā fibers was laid over the framework, and feathers attached in bundles in the same way as for the cloaks.  The featherwork starts from the bottom, so each new row conceals the quills of the feathers below.  (Museum of New Zealand)

“It was probably the cherished armor of a king as noble as any of the Hawaiian line. and yet it is not all yellow, as one or two authors claim that the helmet of a king should always be: it is of red, as are the most of those which retain any of their original feathers, and not a single one of all is exclusively yellow.”

“It may seem strange that articles so highly valued should have so little history connected with them … it would add greatly to the interest which must ever attach to these beautiful examples of patient and long-continued work by a primitive people if we knew …”

“… what chief first ordered the construction, how long the hunters collected, how many years the deft fingers of the high chiefesses plaited the precious feathers into the network, what rejoicings at the completion of the long task, in what battle it first was worn, and then the changing ownership when murder, fraud, or theft transferred the garment …”  (Brigham)

“Feathers were important symbols of power for Polynesians; in Hawai‘i, feathers were more highly prized than other types of property.”

“Feathers used for crafts were obtained from at least 24 bird species, however, the golden feathers of ‘ō‘ō and mamo birds made them primary targets for birdhunters; both birds became extinct by the late 1800s.”

“Feathers were utilized for many items, including ‘ahu‘ula [cloaks], mahiole [war helmets], and kāhili [standards]. Most garments utilized a considerable number of feathers; a cloak for Kamehameha consumed the golden feathers of 80,000 mamo birds.”  (Perez)

“The feathers of birds were the most valued possessions of the ancient Hawaiians. The feathers of the mamo were more choice than those of the oo because of their superior magnificence when wrought into cloaks (ahu). The plumage of the i‘iwi, apapane and amakihi were made into ahu-ula, cloaks and capes, and into maho-ole, helmets.”

“The ahu-ula was a possession most costly and precious (makamae), not obtainable by the common people, only by the alii. It was much worn by them as an insignia in time of war and when they went into battle. The ahu-ula was also conferred upon warriors, but only upon those who had distinguished themselves and had merit, and it was an object of plunder in every battle.”

“Unless one were a warrior in something more than name, he would not succeed in capturing his prisoner nor in getting possession of the ahu-ula and feathered helmet of a warrior.  These feathers had a notable use in the making of the royal battle-gods. They were also frequently used by the female chiefs in making or decorating a comb called huli-kua, which was used as an ornament in the hair.”

“The lands that produced feathers were heavily taxed at the Makahiki time, feathers being the most acceptable offering to the Makahiki-idol. If any land failed to furnish the full tale of feathers due for the tax, the landlord was turned off (hemo). So greedy were the alii after fathers that there was a standing order (palala) directing their collection.” (Malo)

There are many different kinds of mahiole that can be seen today found in museums around the world from the mahiole haka (short crested helmet,) mahiole pōheoheo (knobbed helmet,) mahiole haka kahakaha (striped short crest helmet,) spoked crescent helmet and others.

In Tibet, regarded as the manifestation of Bodhisattva of Wisdom, Jampelyan (Manjushri), Tsongkhapa’s followers built him the Ganden Monastery in Netang near Lhasa in 1409. After his death, Tsongkhapa’s students built a new school of Tibetan Buddhism based on his teachings and named it ‘Gelug’ which means virtuous tradition. (TibetPedia)

Among his known disciples were Gyaltsab (1364-1431), Jamchen Chojey (1355-1435), Khedrub (1385-1438), and Gendun Drupa (1391-1474). His disciples founded the great monasteries of the Gelug Sect such as Sera monastery of Lhasa, Drepung and Tashillhunpo monasteries, and introduced the tradition of wearing yellow hats to distinguish them from Sakya lamas, who wore red hats.

The Gelugpa Sect of Tibetan Buddhism, despite being the youngest, is the largest and most important school of thought. Having emerged in the 15th Century through the reforming efforts of Tsongkhapa, adherance to the Gelugpa sect is considered to be purest form of Tibetan Buddhism.

The sect achieved its peak in the 17th Century with huge support from Mongols and Tibetans inspired by the enigmatic 5th Dalai Lama. The Gelugpa Sect remained in power in the Central Tibetan Plateau until Chinese invasions of Tibet in the 1950s. (TibetPedia)

Hmmm …

© 2025 Ho‘okuleana LLC

by Peter T Young Leave a Comment

Sweet Home

Mid pleasures and palaces though we may roam
Be it ever so humble, there’s no place like home
A charm from the skies seems to hallow us there
Which seek thro’ the world, is ne’er met elsewhere

Home! Home! Sweet, sweet home!
There’s no place like home. There’s no place like home!
(Home, Sweet Home; John Howard Payne, 1823)

When the missionaries arrived on O‘ahu in April 1820 they lived in the grass houses provided by traders and ship captains in an area just mauka of the fort (mauka of what is now the Aloha Tower area).

In 1828, the American Board of Commissioners for Foreign Mission (ABCFM) sent 20-people in the Third Company of missionaries to Hawaiʻi, including four ministers and their wives. 

A physician and his wife accompanied the ministers, Dr. Gerrit Parmele Judd and Laura Fish Judd.  Dr. Judd was sent to replace Dr. Abraham Blatchely, who, because of poor health, had left Hawaiʻi the previous year.

Judd, a medical missionary, had originally come to the islands to serve as the missionary physician, intending to treat native Hawaiians for the growing number of diseases introduced by foreigners. He immersed himself in the Hawaiian community, becoming a fluent speaker of Hawaiian.  Judd soon became an adviser to and supporter of King Kamehameha III.

In May 1842, Judd was asked to leave the Mission and accept an appointment as “translator and recorder for the government,” and as a member of the “treasury board,” with instructions to aid Oʻahu’s Governor Kekūanāoʻa in the transaction of business with foreigners.

In the mid-1840s Dr. Judd began to make plans for a new house. After he left the mission he had rented for a time the pleasant stone dwelling of the premier, Kekauluohi (Auhea).

This house delighted Mrs. Judd, who wrote, “The high ceiling, large windows, and papered walls afford such a contrast to our little cottage, that I feel like a traveler at a hotel, or on board a finely furnished steamer – a mere lodger for the night.” (Judd)  The premier soon decided to occupy the house herself, and the Judds had to move to another next to the palace.

Mrs. Judd commented, “Our new house is not so nice as hers, but in some respects we like it better. The yard is full of rubbish and ruins of adobe walls and pig-sties, and we shall have the pleasure for the fourth time of pulling up thistles and planting roses.”

In many ways this house proved unsatisfactory. Mrs Judd complained particularly that the children needed more privacy. “I must have a more retired home for them. So much anxiety and so much company unfit me for maternal duty.”

By the summer of 1846, the Judds were planning to build their own home in Nu‘uanu Valley, they named it “Sweet Home”, after the popular 1823 song by John Howard Payne.  The new home consumed much of his time and strained his finances to the limit. (Judd)

“The house has a chimney and a kitchen within, which is an anomaly in Hawaiian architecture. We had been collecting the materials for two years, a little here and a little there, as we could command the means of payment.”

“The doors, floors, and gates were made in Copenhagen and sent out for sale, and my husband purchased them at auction for much less than we could get them made.”

“The windows, glazed, and blinds already painted were sent out from Boston. … I never felt poorer, even when a missionary, for we were obliged to borrow money to pay carpenters and masons who built our house, and give a mortgage on it for security.”

To finance the house Judd sold some cattle to the government, raised $1,000 on a mortgage from the treasury, and borrowed $5,500 from his colleague Wyllie.

The privy council on February 18, 1847, gave him a fee-simple title to the homesite, amounting to 7.61 acres, for $50.00, a figure which the chiefs named, and the family moved into Sweet Home the following month. At that time the house was far from finished. (Judd)

At Sweet Home the Judd family announced engagements, celebrated weddings, and anxiously awaited the birth of babies. The house was seldom silent, save during the rare and somber visitations of sickness and death. (Judd)

“There we played or busied ourselves with household tasks, or entertained our numerous friends. If the afternoon was fine, we sat on the lawn under the cool shade of the low-boughed trees, or, if one of the numerous valley-showers came, we gathered on the broad verandas to watch over the bright flower-pots the rain as it hurried to the town.”

“Ours was a happy family. In the evening we gathered around the shaded lamp and studied our lessons, or listened with bated breaths while mother read some romantic adventure aloud.”

“My parents were genuinely religious, and gave to our spiritual welfare the greatest possible care. We learned long passages from the Scriptures and recited them with much emphasis. On Sundays we were allowed no playthings, and walked to church, so as to give the horses a day of rest.” (Elizabeth Judd; Judd)

On December 18, 1872, Dr Judd made his will, beginning with the traditional phrase, “In the name of God, amen.” First, he divided his real estate among his seven surviving children. Sweet Home and an adjoining building lot went to Helen Judd, and each of his three other daughters received land in Nu‘uanu Valley. (Judd)

Dr Judd died on July 12, 1873 in Honolulu at the age 70. Aptly descriptive of his lifetime work, the epitaph on his tomb in Nu‘uanu Cemetery (now O‘ahu Cemetery) reads, “Hawaii’s Friend”. (HMAA)

Gerrit and Laura Judd had 9 children: Gerrit Parmele, b. March 8, 1829 (he died at the age of 10); Elizabeth Kinau, b. July 5, 1831; Helen Seymour, b. Aug. 27, 1833; Charles Hastings, b. Sept. 8, 1835; Laura Fish, b. Sept. 8, 1835; Albert Francis, b. Jan. 7, 1838; Allan Wilkes, b. Apr. 20, 1841; Sybil Augusta, b. March 16, 1843; and Juliet Isabelle, b. March 28, 1846 (she died at the age of 10). (Hawaiian Historical Society)

On March 8, 1879, a trust deed over the Sweet Home property was made; the grantors were Helen Seymour Judd and others, but the consideration was paid by Henry AP Carter and it appears from the face of the instrument that the deed was in the nature of a settlement by Henry AP Carter for the benefit of his wife and children.  (Carter v Davis, Hawaii Supreme Court)

(On February 27, 1862, Sybil Augusta Judd (4th daughter and 8th child of Gerrit Parmele Judd and Laura Fish Judd) married Henry Alpheus Peirce Carter (son of Captain Joseph Oliver Carter and Hannah Trufant Lord Carter.))

(They had 7 children: Frances Isabelle, b. Jan. 18, 1863; Charles Lunt, b. Nov. 30, 1864; George Robert, b. Dec. 28, 1866; Agnes, b. Oct. 15, 1869; Sybil Augusta, b. Feb. 16, 1873 (she died at the age of 1); Cordelia Judd, b. May 18, 1876; and Joshua Dickson, b. Feb. 8, 1880 (he died at the age of 2). (Hawaiian Historical Society))

In part, the trust deed that Henry AP Carter initiated covering Sweet Home stated, “During the life of Sybil Augusta Carter wife of the said Henry AP Carter to allow her to occupy and enjoy the said estate she paying the taxes and all necessary charges and expenses or at her election to pay over to her the net rents and profits thereof …”

“(A)t her death in further trust to allow the children of the said Sybil Augusta Carter by the said Henry AP Carter and such person or persons as their guardian appointed …”

“The plan of the trust deed was to keep the property in the hands of the trustee, as long as it was to be used as a home for Sybil Augusta Carter or any of her minor children …”

“… and whenever the time might occur that it should be no longer needed for this purpose it was to be conveyed to the children then living with suitable provision for the heirs of those who had died meantime.” (Carter v Davis, Hawaii Supreme Court)

Behind Sweet Home, and extending right to the Nu‘uanu Road, is the O‘ahu Cemetery. When Sweet Home was demolished in 1911, its site was added to the cemetery grounds. (HHS)

Judd Street was named for Dr Gerrit Parmele Judd (1803–1873), missionary doctor who arrived in 1837 and became an important adviser to Kamehameha III. His residence, “Sweet Home,” was at Nuʻuanu and Judd streets. (Place Names)

© 2025 Ho‘okuleana LLC